Dreaming
by scarloot
Summary: Okay so this isn't actually a Yume Nikki/Crooked Man crossover but I couldn't find one for The Sandman (also by Uri uwu). But yeah, it's a crossover between Yume Nikki and The Sandman so yeeeee (have fun reading it ouo)
1. Prolouge

_Shh... _

_Quiet, dear... _

_Not another word. _

_...There's nothing to worry about. _

_It's only a monster, moaning in the closet. _

_Heehee... _

_Just kidding. _

_...I'm not kidding. _

_The monsters are real. _

_I've seen what they can do... _

_Be careful, Madotsuki. _

_Be careful of the monsters who live under your bed. _

_And in your dreams... _

_Well... _

_You're still not sleepy, are you? _

_Then I'll tell you a scary story... _

_My, you look sleepy. _

_You sure do love to sleep, don't you? _

_Lay down then. _

_Close your eyes and go to sleep. _

_But be careful in your dreams. _

_You never know what might be out to get you..._


	2. A Power Outage?

Sophie stared at the wall, sleepless as usual.

_Papa's still not home...ahh...why does he work so much?_

She sat up, her bright red hair tumbling past her shoulders.

_I'm hungry...I should eat something._

Sophie's stomach rumbled as she made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed an apple and bit into it.

_Yuck! _She spat out the mouthful instantly. It was soft.

"Gross!" she exclaimed, reaching for another one. It made a satisfying crunch when she bit into it.

_That's better. This apple's tastier._

Sophie felt a little better after she had eaten. _Maybe I can rest now..._

But of course she couldn't. Sophie Grundler had insomnia. She lived at home, pretty much by herself, as her dad was almost always at work. She was bullied at school by an old friend called Regan, and her 'best friend', Anne, never stood up for her.

With all that she had to think about, Sophie never got around to sleeping, as she never looked forward to the next day.

_I'm so tired..._

Her eyelids drooped, but her closed eyes didn't bring her sleep. They brought back her worries and problems, her thoughts about her dead mother, Regan's parents arguing about divorce, Anne sitting at her desk while Regan tormented Sophie.

_What a useless friend...Anne does absolutely nothing to stop Regan bullying me. And just because Regan's parents argue a lot doesn't mean she can use me as relief to her problems. _

Sophie's thoughts wandered away again, and, as usual, she spent the whole night thinking about how horrible the next day would be.

Madotsuki was the complete opposite of Sophie. She loved to sleep, to dream, to escape the painful reality she lived in.

She explored her dreamscape, every time discovering something new.

But she had to take the bad with the good.

Madotsuki peered into a cave. Inside was a girl, turned away from the entrance.

_Her name's Monoe. I think her sister died recently..._

Madotsuki walked forward slowly, then grabbed Monoe by the shoulders and spun her around.

"What? Monoe...?"

The monochrome girl's face was twisted into a strange smirk. She didn't say anything, and didn't seem to see Madotsuki.

"M-Monoe?"

Madotsuki let go of Monoe's shoulders and stepped back. "What's...wrong...with you...?"

Monoe continued smirking, then just...faded away.

"Monoe!" Madotsuki frantically looked around, but only saw the walls of the narrow cave-it was more of a tunnel.

Suddenly, Monoe reappeared at the other end off the tunnel. She was still smirking.

Madotsuki pinched her own cheek and everything disappeared. She woke up in her bed, sighing.

_What's the time...? _

She reached for the clock on her bookshelf.

**3:24am**

The brunette got up from her bed and moved over towards the little camp bed on the floor. Her best friend, Sophie, was still lying there, her eyes wide open.

"Sophie?" Madotsuki called. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just can't sleep..." she whispered, rolling over and turning to face the glass door that lead outside.

"..." Madotsuki turned away from her friend and sat down at her desk. It was time for her to sit down and write about her dreams.

_But first, I should braid my hair. I don't want it getting in the way._

Madotsuki grabbed a couple of hair ties and tied her long hair into two braids. They hung down to just past her shoulders.

She plopped down into her chair and picked up her pen. The pages in her dream diary were filled with rich descriptions of her dreamland, reminding her of Uboa, Poniko and the others.

This time, it was about Monoe.

**Monoe-This time, I saw Monoe, a girl who used to go to the same high school as me. I don't know if she goes there anymore, I don't go to school. Her sister, Monoko, was**

At that point, Madotsuki heard the lock on her door click. Almost immediately, she dropped the pen and hurried over to the door.

It was locked.

_How did this happen? It's somehow been locked from the outside..._

Madotsuki stared and stared at the door, wondering who-or what-could have done that.

"Hello?" she called tentatively. Her voice didn't sound right.

Silence. Complete silence. Strange, it was almost deafening.

_What...is going on?_

Then-

"Mado?"

It was only Sophie, from her position on the camp bed.

"The door...the door's been locked from the outside. I can't move it." Madotsuki explained.

"...What...?" Sophie sat up.

"It won't budge. Sophie, if this is some sort of joke-"

"It's not a joke...! Is there any other way out of your apartment?"

Madotsuki stared at the night sky. It was almost pitch black, but there was also a faint glow from the city lights. "... ...No..."

Her voice echoed around the room. It still sounded...wrong...

"What are we going to do? Should I call the police?" Sophie said, reaching for her phone.

"Yes. Do that. Please," Madotsuki added.

Sophie dialed the number, then held the phone to her ear, frowning.

"Wha...?! That was the right number, right?" she seemed to be talking to herself.

"What happened?" Madotsuki asked.

"It said...that the number I just dialed didn't exist..."

Madotsuki leaned against the door and groaned. "What are we going to-"

But before she could finish her sentence, the lamp on her desk flickered and went out. Her game console, which normally had a reassuring light flashing on it, didn't have that flashing light. And outside, the glow of the city lights was gone.

The room was completely dark.

"Sophie, where are you?!"

"Towards the glass door..."

Madotsuki heard a faint reply, then the sound of a door sliding open. She let her eyes adjust to the sudden darkness, then hurried after her friend.


	3. The Nexus

Outside it was a little lighter. It was a cloudless night. The moon was just a sliver of silver in the sky, but that and the stars provided enough light to see at least a few centimetres ahead.

Sophie peered over the edge of the balcony.

_It's such a long way down..._

She couldn't see anything but a black abyss. It made her feel dizzy.

"Mado, there's nothing down there...I can't...see anything..."

"..." Madotsuki didn't reply.

Suddenly, Sophie felt her feet being lifted from the ground.

"A-Agh! Madotsuki!"

She tipped over the edge of the balcony, and fell down, down down.

_THUD._

Sophie had landed in a pitch-black area. Well, the floor and walls were black, at least. It was a large room, larger than her room at home. There were 12 doors surrounding the center of the room, where Sophie lay. As she got to her feet, she realized the floor was made of glass. There was a picture of something Aztec-looking...floating along below it. The rest of the floor was black.

"M-Madotsuki?!" Sophie called, starting to feel a little scared.

_Just where am I? This looks like a nexus of some sort..._

There was a strange sound in Sophie's ears. It was just one note playing over and over, like holding down a key on a piano or keyboard.

_What is this...place?! Why am I here?!_

She began to panic, wondering if she would ever get back home again.

_Where's Madotsuki?! She should be here...shouldn't she?! No...I can't panic. I don't want to be a crybaby...What would Mum say in a situation like this?_

_Hush, dear..._

_Don't worry._

_It's all in your head._

_The monsters aren't real._

_It's just your imagination..._

_Don't let it get the better of you._

"Phew..."

_That helped me calm down a little...Now...I should find a way out of here. Which of these doors could lead me back to Madotsuki's apartment?_

To the left was a blue-ish door. It caught Sophie's eye. I'll try that one...

She opened it slowly, then peeked inside. It was too dark to see a thing. But once she stepped inside, the world was suddenly white. It was snowing, and there were a few pine trees scattered around the place.

"This can't be the way out...can it?" she muttered to herself.

Sophie put a foot forward. It made a satisfying crunch when she stepped in the snow.

"Heh." a giggle escaped her lips. She'd never been in the snow before.

She wandered around for a bit. Her ears seemed to be ringing, but it wasn't the normal sound. Sophie ignored it. She wouldn't let some annoying sound ruin her fun.

_Well...not exactly fun..._

Suddenly, Sophie stopped in her tracks. Through the snow, past some trees, she thought she saw...something...moving...

"Huh?" she started forwards slowly. After a few metres, her sight began to clear. It was a small woman with blue-grey hair and a grey-white dress.

"Hello...?" Sophie said cautiously. No reply.

"Um...hi...!" she waved her hand.

The snow woman didn't reply. She moved past Sophie, then turned left and started walking again. She didn't seem to be moving in any sort of pattern.

Sophie walked up to her and tapped her shoulder.

"Hey-"

Befoe she could finsh her sentence, however, a large white egg with small grey dots on it suddenly appeared. The snow woman continued walking as if nothing had happened.

"What...is that...?" Sophie picked up the egg. Suddenly, there was a flash of light. She dropped the egg and backed away.

_What is going on...?!_

Sophie looked down at herself. She gasped. It seemed she had...turned into the snow woman.

_What the heck did that...egg...do to me?! _

She picked up the egg again. There was another flash of white and she was returned to her own body.

_What exactly is this thing?_

Sophie turned and fled. She ran and ran. _There's no way I'm going back there..._

She eventually came across an igloo. There was nothing else nearby. Sophie entered it, feeling that if anywhere was safe, it was there.

The igloo was very small. It seemed quite plain, until Sophie noticed the glowing pink rectangle on the ground. She reached out a hand to touch it, but immediatly wished she hadn't. She was falling again. This time, she landed in a slightly different area. It was an island, and looked like it was made of snow. The pink-ish glow said otherwise.

Madotsuki lunged towards her friend, but it was too late. Sophie fell over the edge of the balcony.

"Sophie!" Madotsuki called. She peered over the edge, but, just like Sophie had described, it was pitch black.

_What's down there? What happened to Sophie? Where did she go?_

Madotsuki felt there was no choice but to go after her. She slid the glass door shut, just in case, then stood at the edge of the balcony. It looked like a very long way down.

_Don't be stupid, of course it is._

She climbed onto the railing and stood up. It was hard to keep her balance, but somehow she managed to. Then she jumped.

As she fell, Madotsuki felt a strange sensation that she was leaving the real world behind. She was used to this feeling, as her dreams were so vivid it was almost like another world. No, it was another world.

Madotsuki landed on a glass floor. It was funny, she hadn't been injured at all when she'd landed.

She stood up and glanced around.

_Oh no._

She was in the nexus of her dreamscape.

The twelve doors were all there, all with slightly different patterns on them. Madotsuki knew where each of them lead. She knew what she had to do to get out of this place.

Collect the effects.

_There were 24 effects in total. Sophie may have even found one already. Yes...she must have. There's the Yuki-onna effect over there..._

It was near Madotsuki, in a random spot in the room near the door to the Neon World.

_Sophie must be in the Snow World...I have to find her before she finds those Toringen...or even worse...Poniko and Uboa..._

Madotsuki shuddered. _What will happen if Sophie does find it? Will Uboa take her to that...place...?_

She hurried through the blue door and into the Snow World.

_I have to find her-quick!_

She hurried towards Poniko's igloo. _I hope I'm not too late._

Madotsuki stuck one of her feet in the glowing pink recangle. Almost instantly, she found herself standing in the middle of an island.

_Okay...now to find Sophie._


	4. Open

_I couldn't open that door. I couldn't step outside. I...was afraid...of what might be waiting for me..._

_I couldn't do it..._

_I couldn't do it..._

_I couldn't do it today...but...that's okay because..._

_I'll try again tomorrow..._

_Or the next day..._

_That's okay though...becsue I'm getting better at talking to people..._

_I'm getting better, gradually..._

_Right...?_

"Wow, Madotsuki...you live by yourself?" Sophie gazed around the small apartment in wonder.

"Yeah..." the other girl replied.

"Huh...I wish I could...but...I'm not old enough to...! Though I pretty much do."

"Neither am I...I just..."

They fell into an awkward silence.

"Well, I like it. It's small, but I guess it's all you need, right?" Sophie smiled.

"Uh huh." Madotsuki replied emotionlessly.

Sophie couldn't think of anything else to say. _Madotsuki doesn't seem very happy today...I wish I knew why..._

_I made a new friend today._

_Her name is Sophie. Sophie Grundler. _

_she's very nice, but...She doesn't seem very happy either._

_She has insomnia._

_She can't sleep._

_I...we're almost complete oppsites!_

_It's strange...but...even though I sleep a lot and she barely even closes her eyes...We're both the same on the inside._

_Unhappy._

"So...you have insomnia?" Madotsuki asked.

"Y-yeah..." Sophie replied, staring at her pillow.

"That's weird, I can sleep for most of the day!"

"I...just can't. I have too much to think about, too much to worry about. I rarely, if ever, get even an hour of sleep. I...don't know what to do...It's so horrible!" Sophie's eyelids drooped. She closed her eyes and sighed. "You're the first person I can really talk to..."

"Same goes for you..." Madotsuki murmered. "I...don't actually like to leave my room...ever. I try to but...I'm...a little..." her voice trailed off. Sophie stared at her, wide-eyed.

"It's...okay," she said, smiling. "If you can't open the door and step outside today...then try again tomorrow! It doesn't matter how long it takes, as long as you get better, right? So...I guess that means I have to keep trying to rid myself of my worries...until they're gone! I need to confront them...somehow...You should do the same," she continued, looking considerably brighter. "and we'll finally be able to sleep peacefully at night."

_Sophie's words rang through my head for the rest of the day._

_I couldn't stop thinking about it._

_"If you can't open that door and step outside today...then try again tomorrow!"_

_I'll keep trying, Sophie. I...really will..._

_I hope._

Sophie stepped inside the little house, glancing around furtively.

_I feel like I'm being watched..._

The inside of the house was quite cute-looking. A girl with blonde hair in a ponytail and blue eyes was standing in the center, wandering around aimlessly.

"H-hello?" Sophie called.

Just like the snow woman, the girl didn't respond.

"..." Sophie stepped in front of the girl and waved her hand.

No response.

Sophie sighed and stepped away, feeling frustrated.

_If no one will talk to me, how am I going to find a way out of this place? What if there's...no way out?_

Suddenly Sophie had an idea. _Maybe there's a certain way to get her attention...what about...flicking the lights?_

Sophie headed towards the light switch and reached out her hand.

_Something feels...strange...about this room..._

She flicked the light off. The girl didn't respond. She tried again, flicking it back on. The girl continued walking around randomly.

Sophie continued flicking the light switch. Suddenly, as the lights were turned off again, she heard a strange sound. She whipped around and saw some sort of...thing...sitting in the place of the girl.

"YAAAAHHHHh!" Sophie squealed.

A strange sound seemed to be coming from the creature's mouth. It didn't move, just...sat there.

Sophie tip-toed towards it, not able to move her eyes from it.

She reached out a hand, and at the same time the door burst open. Madotsuki stood at the doorway. Her eyes were wide with fear. That was the last thing Sophie saw before she was whisked away in a blur of colour.


End file.
